Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Weekly Pull List: 5/28/14

It's time for the pull list!! All the comics available this week can be found on Comixology, and any breaking comics news is on Comic Book Resources.

Dark Horse
Star Wars Lucas Draft #8 (of 8)
Star Wars Rebel Heist #2 (of 4)

DC
Batman #31
Batman Eternal #8
The Flash #31
New 52 Future's End #4
Nightwing #30
Red Lanterns #31
Secret Origins #2

Image
Chew/Revival #1
Sex #13

Marvel
Avengers #30
Deadpool #29
Fantastic Four #5
Giant Size Spider-Man #1
Guardians of the Galaxy #15
Inhuman #2
Iron Man #26
Iron Patriot #3
Mighty Avengers #10
Thanos Annual #1
Wolverine #7

Be sure to pick up...

Nightwing #30
This is it - the series finale!! Nightwing has been outed to everyone in the world, and now he must figure out what to do next!  But don't worry, he'll be back in a new ongoing series in the next few months.

Giant Size Spider-Man #1
This is the only Spider-Man out this week, but it should be pretty fun.  It's one dollar more than a usual book, but it features four shorter stories about Peter's past.  

Iron Man #26
This is the conclusion to the Rings of the Mandarin storyline. It's been pretty fun, and the story has been great.  Iron Man whooped the Mandarin in the last issue, and the conclusion should be pretty sweet.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment below with what books you're picking up this week!

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Jimmie Johnson Returns to Victory Lane at Charlotte

Originally written for CLNS Radio.


Jimmie Johnson picked up his first victory of the season by dominating the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night.

Johnson was strong throughout NASCAR’s longest event, leading 165 of 400 laps from the pole. 
 
Johnson leads the field to the green flag (Photo courtesy NASCAR via Getty Images)
Many were unsure of Johnson’s team early in the season during a 13-race winless streak for the 6-time Champion.  Johnson said he never had any doubts of getting back to victory lane.

“It’s great to win,” Johnson said in victory lane.  “All the concern and all the worry, that was elsewhere - it wasn’t in my head.  We’ve had some bad races, but tonight we had a great race.”

Johnson said he had to work on his car throughout the night, but that his team finally made the right changes to get him the victory.

“It was such a long race,” Johnson said.  “The track went in a different direction from a handling perspective, but once we got on top of it we were good.”

Johnson led the race to the green flag.  After running side-by-side with Brad Keselowski for the first lap, he was able to clear the No. 2 and take the lead.

Johnson dominated early on, leading throughout the first cycle of green-flag pit stops.  He didn’t give up the lead until lap 77, when Kevin Harvick took the lead for the first time.

Harvick led through the next round of green-flag pit stops on lap 93.  He cycled back around as the leader, and he led until the first caution of the night came out for debris on lap 108.

Harvick led the field back to the green flag on lap 115, and he led all the way until the second caution, once again for debris, on lap 149.

Johnson won the race off pit road, and he led the field back to the green flag.  On lap 164, David Gilliland hit the outside wall to bring out another caution.

Johnson led the field down pit road, but Keselowski stayed out to take the lead.

Keselowski led the field back to the green flag on lap 170.  He led until lap 194, when Harvick chased him back down to take the lead.  Harvick would lead throughout the next round of green-flag pit stops, and he led until the caution came out for debris on lap 223.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead under the caution by staying out, and he led the field back to the green flag on lap 228.

On lap 235, Marcos Ambrose and Josh Wise got together to bring out the caution.  The wreck also collected Landon Cassill, Danica Patrick and Brian Scott.

Jamie McMurray won the race off pit road, and he led the field back to the green flag.  After racing side-by-side with Matt Kenseth, McMurray was able to take the lead.

After McMurray made a pit stop on lap 272, Kenseth was able to inherit the lead.

On lap 274, Kurt Busch’s engine blew up.  Busch had been attempting to pull “the double” by completing the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in one day.

The race restarted on lap 283, and Johnson led after winning the race off pit road.  He led until Busch’s teammate Danica Patrick blew her engine.

Johnson led the field back to the green flag on lap 294, but Kenseth was able to work his way around Johnson by passing him on the high side.

On lap 312, Johnson was able to work his way back around Kenseth for the lead.  He led until he had to pit on lap 331.  When Keselowski pitted on lap 345, Johnson inherited the lead.

Johnson had to pit on lap 374, and Carl Edwards inherited the lead.  Edwards needed the race to stay green to pick up the victory, but the caution came out for the final time on lap 380.

Gordon stayed out under the caution, but Kenseth was able to get around him on the final restart to take the lead.

Johnson chased down Kenseth and took the lead for the final time just eight laps from the finish.  He pulled away from Kenseth to win the race.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Carl Edwards
5. Jamie McMurray
6. Brian Vickers
7. Jeff Gordon
8. Paul Menard
9. Kyle Busch
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Aric Almirola
12. Joey Logano
13. Tony Stewart
14. Kasey Kahne
15. Ryan Newman
16. Austin Dillon
17. Clint Bowyer
18. Kyle Larson
19. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
20. Trevor Bayne
21. Greg Biffle
22. Denny Hamlin
23. AJ Allmendinger
24. Casey Mears
25. Martin Truex Jr.
26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
27. Cole Whitt
28. Michael Annett
29. Marcos Ambrose
30. Michael McDowell
31. David Ragan
32. Brian Scott
33. Alex Bowman
34. Joe Nemechek
35. Landon Cassill
37. Justin Allgaier
38. Ryan Truex
39. Danica Patrick
40. Kurt Busch
41. Josh Wise
42. Reed Sorenson
43. David Gilliland

Next weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Dover International Speedway.  The FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks can be seen Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST, only on FOX.

Johnson celebrates in victory lane (Photo courtesy Miss Sprint Cup Facebook page)

Kurt Busch Falls Short of "The Double"

Originally written for CLNS Radio.


Kurt Busch fell short of completing racing’s equivalent of a double-header on Sunday.

Busch was trying to complete the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, known as “the double” in the racing world.

Busch lands at Charlotte (Photo courtesy Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
Busch ran well in the Indianapolis 500, quietly running towards a sixth-place finish in the first half of the day.

Following the IndyCar race, Busch flew to Charlotte for the NASCAR event Sunday night.  Because he was in Indianapolis, he missed the NASCAR driver’s meeting and was forced to start in the rear of the field.  

He quickly moved his way up through the field, but the race went south 274 laps into the 400-lap race.  Busch’s engine expired, ending his chances at completing all 1,100 miles on Sunday.

Busch went on to finish 40th in the Coke 600, but he said he didn’t want that to get in the way of what he accomplished in Indianapolis.  

“The engine let go. Those things happen in motorsports,” Busch said in the garage following his DNF.  “It was a good battle, though.  I was hoping to do 1,100 miles today.  I can’t let what happened here dampen the mood on what happened in Indianapolis.”

Busch became the fourth driver to start both Memorial Day races, and was the first to do it since Robby Gordon in 2004.  Tony Stewart remains the only driver to finish both races in one day.  He completed all 1,100 miles in 2001.

Ryan Hunter-Reay Wins the 98th Indianapolis 500

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Ryan Hunter-Reay survived a wild finish to win the 98th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon.

Hunter-Reay had to hold off Helio Castroneves during the final laps.  The two had to race on the inside of the track while swapping the lead over the final 10 laps.

“There was no practice; we never really ran those lines all month,” said Hunter-Reay.  “Everything we all did at the end there was all new.  That was some fantastic racing.”

Photo courtesy CBS Sports
The race began with a very long green-flag run.  Hunter-Reay qualified 19th, and this run allowed him to work his way to the front.  He took the lead for the first time on lap 94 in the middle of green-flag pit stops.

The first caution of the day came out on lap 150 when Charlie Kimball spun coming out of Turn 2.

Hunter-Reay took the lead when the race restarted, and he and pole-sitter Ed Carpenter swapped the lead until Scott Dixon spun on lap 168 to bring out the second caution.

On lap 175, Hunter-Reay led the field back to the green flag.  Going into Turn 1, James Hinchcliffe got together with Carpenter, sending both driver into the wall.

On lap 180, Hunter-Reay took the green flag.  He raced with Marco Andretti and Castroneves for the lead until Townsend Bell hit the wall on lap 191.  

The race was red-flagged so that the wreck could be cleaned up and repairs could be made to the outside wall.  IndyCar officials also wanted the fans to see the race end under the green flag if possible.

The race restarted with six laps to go, and Hunter-Reay swapped the lead with Castroneves.   Hunter-Reay took the lead coming to the white flag, and he was able to hold off Castroneves to take the victory.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Ryan Hunter-Reay
2. Helio Castroneves
3. Marco Andretti
4. Carlos Munoz
5. Juan Pablo Montoya
6. Kurt Busch
7. Sebastien Bourdais
8. Will Power
9. Sage Karam
10. JR Hildebrand
11. Oriol Servia
12. Simon Pagenaud
13. Alex Tagliani
14. Jacques Villeneuve
15. Sebastian Saavedra
16. James Davison
17. Carlos Huertas
18. Ryan Briscoe
19. Takuma Sato
20. Jack Hawksworth
21. Mikhail Aleshin
22. Justin Wilson
23. Martin Plowman
24. Pippa Mann
25. Townsend Bell
26. Tony Kanaan
27. Ed Carpenter
28. James Hinchcliffe
29. Scott Dixon
30. Josef Newgarden
31. Charlie Kimball
32. Buddy Lazier
33. Graham Rahal